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Isabella has gone to the bridge...

July 2, 2005 - Over the Bridge

Bella was my first dog, my first Rottweiler...being young and uniformed I got her from a backyard breeder and she was diagnosed with hip dysplasia at 6 months old and a lifetime of chronic ear infections. But she had the sweetest disposition, and the softest ears, of any Rottweiler I'd met before or since, a sentiment shared by every vet she's ever seen. A thick coat that kept the trash basket full and every other thing I ever owned covered in her fur...but it was a delight to snuggle into when I needed comfort. A tail that was clipped too short, but that just meant her entire butt wagged when she was happy...which was almost always.

She of course went through a naughty puppy stage, but her antics were harmless and always made me laugh. She matured early and by the age of two she displayed a regalness and dignity unmatched by virtually any dog I've ever encountered. Sh'd watch other dogs and look at me as if she couldn't believe the way they behaved...it was simply beneath her.

She was a true ambassador for her breed...people who were always leery of big dogs couldn't help but be drawn in by her..she's the reason that dogs are now allowed to come to work with their owners at my company...if she missed more than one Friday visit the president of our company would hunt me down and ask when she was coming in...she would lay in the doorway by my desk and for her it was a forgone conclusion that people would stop and give her a pat...as far as she was concerned it was her due....

She was the reason that I got into rescue...and she always seemed to understand when their needs interfered with the time I spent with her...and she'd just sigh when I always tried to make sure that she got her own special snuggles at the end of the day.

When Jake came to live with us , she was miffed...but his energy and enthusiasm kept her spunky...and she just loved to look at me every time he got into trouble as if to say "you brought it on yourself woman". She always made sure he, and any fosters I brought home, understood who was the reigning queen and dared anyone to challenge her...they never did

Even in the last years, when her arthritis slowed her down so much... she loved to just lay in the yard...queen of all she surveyed...and watch the youngsters...secure in her place...wise in her years

It was that regalness, dignity, and inner strength that hid the cancer in her liver that she finally succumbed too...she never let me know she wasn't feeling well until a week before she passed...and in that week between diagnosis and the day I let her go, she never complained, never cried... she simply waited with love and patience for ME to be ready to let her go...

Her final morning was spent laying on the porch, basking in the sun, and letting me cry into her soft thick fur...and with her head in my arms she received that final shot and simply sighed, closed her eyes, and snuggled just a little bit deeper into my lap...she departed peacefully and with the same dignity that she displayed her entire life.

I know that she is at peace, laying in her own patch of sunlight, and waiting for me...my life, and my heart will simply not be the same without her in it.

...so take a moment tonight and give your pet that extra snuggle, that extra walk, that extra cookie...you will never regret the extra time you spend with your four legged family members because their time is simply too short...

Goodbye my sweet girl...til we meet again...